Keeping it positive since 2005. Things I want you and I both to remember: Wine, food, travel, recipes.
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Here in America, it's time to start thinking about what wines to serve with all your favorite Thanksgiving desserts, like pumpkin pie and apple pie. My family usually has some lovely sweet wine accompaniment, and this year it is going to be 20 year Tawny Port. 20 year Tawny is the sweet-spot (pardon the pun) and when you taste with the producers in Porto, it's clear that each house compares itself to others with the quality of their 20. For holiday time, it's the perfect wine if you are looking for something that is sweet and seriously delicious. If you are serving anything that would benefit from a touch of caramel, look past the 10 year Tawnys on the shelf, and grab a 20. If you don't finish it, don't fret, as they last 3-4 weeks in the fridge so you can have a sip on the eve of your next big holiday.

Through the generosity of The Institute of Douro and Port Wines, The Association of Port Wine Companies, and many of their producers, I have tasted a lot of Port Wine in the last 2 months! When I was in Porto in September, it occurred to me that I should publish an overview of the 20s in time for holiday buying. Alas, some of these are very hard to find in the U.S., but may be easier for my European readers to look out for. My favorites are in RED. November 12, 2016 I invited several friends and wine colleagues to taste several of the wines easily available in the US. Top marks went to Dow's, Graham's, Smith-Woodhouse, and Churchill's. In my previous tastings, my favorites included Bulas, Kopke, Blackett, Poças Junior, Barros, Ramos PIntos, and Andresen.

Dow 20 year Tawny Port

Dense caramel, Powerful and aristocratic. Serious, clean, lifted caramel, lemon/orange, Great finish. Drier and more complex due to being fermented a bit longer. A tad hotter on the palate and more concentrated.

Graham's 20 year Tawny Port

Great blend between the mature style and sweet style, super clean finish, a group favorite. Lush and citrusy. Very elegant. Great scotch bottle for the high roller.

Beautiful amber/rose color, Has the power of Dow's but Elegant and smooth. A top pick and available in the US.

Bulas Family Estate 20 year Tawny Port:

Long and quite syrupy. Sweet and unctuous. Noted lots of fresh apricot scents on both recent tastings. Young feeling.

Kopke 20 year Tawny

Very fruity with hints or orange/citrus. One of my favorites.

Ramos Pintos Quinta do Bom Retiro 20 year Tawny Port

Unique in the world of Port, a single Quinta multi-vintage blend, from Quinta do Bom Retiro. Lots of molasses and a serious old nose to it, as lots of 1880 and 1890 vintages are in this 50-vintage blend. Elegant, long and big. Joge Rosas, General Director of Ramos Pinto said to me “wine my great-great Grandfather is in that glass!” Because it’s a single Quinta blend, it really does have distinct aromas and flavors that stand out in a big tasting. Great.

Sandeman 20 year Tawny Port

A sweeter style, you can smell some older stock, much more caramel aromas. A little cloying.

The classic Negroni is my cocktail. In fact, it's my family cocktail. My father loved them, as does my brother, as do I. When I see some subtle variation of the Negroni on a menu, I usually have to try it. Maybe it's with Aperol, maybe using Carpano's Antica Formula, maybe an Amaro instead of vermouth...maybe a new gin. Or the curent restaurant rage...the Barrel Aged Negroni. Aging the mixture adds depth and some nice vanilla/smoke notes. Nice.

For the barkeep in a fancy-pants restaurant, filling up a small two-hundred dollar oak barrel with a couple of hundred dollars of booze is no issue. A few busy nights pays for the whole deal. But no home cocktailian is going to go to that level of expense and spirits are volatile and can't be mindlessly oxygenated.

So what's a home mixologist supposed to do? Don't age the cocktail. Barrel age the gin!

My father would have never put a special (read expensive) gin into a Negroni. Ah, there he is wrong. What turns the ordinary cocktail into something extraordinary is the raw ingredients. I usually treat super-premium gins with kid gloves and make my in-and-out Martini as a purist treat, but this recipe dawned on my the minute I got this gin in the mail. I ordered Oola from Washington and I can't think of a better way to enjoy it.

Barrel Aged Negroni sans Barrel

1 part Oola Waitsuburg Barrel-Finished Gin1 part Camparia bit less than 1 part Cinzano Red Vermouth

Shake all 3 together and pour into a pre-iced Martini Glass or over fresh ice for a summertime on-the-rocks experience shown above. Garnish with small twist of orange or very small twist of lemon. For the true fan, Campari swizzle sticks are a must!

I'm starting a new series of posts about what I'm buying in wine stores today --what catches my eye and why.

First up is a wine that caught my eye at the Wine Club in San Francisco. I was shopping for value White Burgundy when I spotted a case of this. French Viognier for about $25.00. I wasn't familiar with this bottle, or the "Les Vins de Vienne" brand, but closer inspection of the label revealed a no-brainer. This is basically Condrieu, from an unclassified location from three of the top names in the Northern Rhone, Yves Cuilleron, Pierre Gaillard, and François Villard. I love Condrieu, but you generally can't touch one for less than $50.00.

Les Vins de Vienne is a joint venture from these three excellent producers offering a large selection of Vin de Pays rhone wines, both reds and whites. This Viognier is from Seyssuel, just north of Condrieu. Looking forward to trying this. Please check out their amazing flash-based website.